It’s your first chance to promote yourself to us and help you to get an interview, so it’s worth getting it right.

How to create a brilliant CV 

A curriculum vitae, or “CV”, is a short, written summary of your skills, achievements and experience.  

So, what makes a good CV? Let’s delve into the essential elements that can help your CV stand out from the rest. 

Does it match the job you’re applying for? 

To ensure you write the best possible CV to fit the job you are applying for, make sure you have the following documents to hand and in mind. This will help you tailor your CV to highlight your experience to match the needs of the job: 

  • The job advert 
  • The job description and person specification – the Word document attached to the job 
  • Company details – take a look around our website. 

Use this information to demonstrate how your previous experience relates to the job you’re applying for, even if it was in a very different role or sector.  

For example: imagine you’ve previously worked as a chef and the support worker job description mentions supporting people’s healthy eating. Your CV could explain how sharing your cooking skills with others would make you a great candidate. 

What should you include? 

There is no fixed layout or format for your CV, but the main points you need to include are: 

  • Contact details: how we can get back in touch to arrange an interview 
  • Personal profile: a snapshot of you and your career goals 
  • Education history: tell us all about your relevant education and qualifications 
  • Employment history: include employer details, job title, dates you worked there and what you did. If there are gaps in your employment history ensure you detail what these gaps were for: for example, job seeking, looking after children or travelling 
  • Hobbies / interests / volunteering positions: this is especially useful if you don’t have experience in paid work. 

How long should it be? 

A good CV is a short CV! Your final CV should be no more than 2 sides of A4 paper, so you’ll need to keep it concise and factual, but still get your personality across! 

A good first impression 

Demonstrate you care about this role by taking the time to check your CV carefully for formatting or spelling mistakes.  

Keep the language and formatting consistent throughout, and it’s really important that you’re completely honest about what you include. For further help with CV building, you can look at the following web pages: 

Good luck!